Scholarship tests in Canberra, without the hype.

Families moving to Canberra from Sydney or Melbourne often ask where the selective school test is. There isn't one. The ACT has no selective government high schools, and no territory-wide entry exam.^[1] Your child's public high school is decided by your address.^[2]

The tests Canberra families do prepare for are scholarship tests set by independent schools.

Who offers scholarships

Several Canberra independent schools award academic scholarships, mostly for entry to Year 7 and sometimes for other years. Canberra Grammar School and Canberra Girls Grammar School, for example, both run scholarship programmes.^[3][4] Each school sets its own rules: which years can apply, what the scholarship covers, and whether a test, an interview or school reports decide it.

Not every scholarship is academic. Some are for music, sport or service, and some are means-tested bursaries. Read each school's page carefully, because the details vary a lot.

The tests

Where a school uses a test, it's usually one of two providers:

• ACER, the Australian Council for Educational Research, runs scholarship tests used by schools across Australia.^[5] Its tests are pitched at the year a child will enter, and a single sitting can be shared by several schools that use the same programme.
• Edutest runs a separate scholarship test that some schools use instead.

The exact papers differ between providers and levels, and providers change them from time to time. Ask each school which test it uses and look at that provider's current information before you start preparing.

When they're sat

For Year 7 entry, most scholarship tests are sat during Year 6, and often in the first half of the year. Registration usually closes a few weeks before. Each school publishes its own dates, so put them in the calendar in Year 5.

What the tests tend to have in common

• Reading: passages that are longer and harder than most Year 6 classroom texts, with questions about meaning and the writer's choices.
• Maths: problem solving with Year 5 and 6 content, often worded in unfamiliar ways.
• Writing: a timed piece, marked on ideas and control as much as length.
• Reasoning: some tests add verbal or numerical reasoning puzzles, which school doesn't teach directly.

How to prepare, honestly

• Fix the maths gaps first. Fractions, decimals and multi-step problems turn up everywhere. A child who is secure in Year 5 maths gains more from that than from another practice paper.
• Read widely and talk about it. "Why do you think he said that?" builds the kind of comprehension scholarship tests reward.
• Practise writing against a clock a handful of times. Planning quickly and finishing strongly is a skill in itself.
• Look at the format once or twice. Seeing a few reasoning questions takes the surprise away. Hours of them rarely help.
• Keep it in proportion. A scholarship is a bonus, not a verdict on your child. The habits that help with the test help with Year 7 too.